Article originally posted by Chad Duggan on 27/03/2019 via LinkedIn.

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Mobility as a Service is really motoring -up the agendas of governments, authorities, and digital service and transport providers the world over. With increasing scrutiny on environmental concerns such as air quality, and the realisation that current transport systems and infrastructure are simply not adequate for a modern world, MaaS is gaining attention as a key component of the solution.

Research in multiple areas in ongoing to ensure large-scale roll-out of MaaS enjoys smooth transitions and successful integrations. Now that there are numerous global case studies to learn from, researchers have the building blocks to mould legislative and regulatory frameworks. These need to be agreed and in-place before any revolutionary transport system is assimilated into the the current arrangement. Research is currently taking place into:

• Improving the MaaS digital platforms themselves. There are now a handful of platforms on the market, each of them consistently improving and gradually expanding their reach and user bases. Mobilleo, Whim, Moovit, Masabi and Skedgo are just some of the technology/platform providers that are active in the marketplace.
• Optimising vehicle dispatch locations.
• Surge pricing and labour supply, as well as other supply and demand dynamics.
• Payment & ticketing systems. Selecting the most cost-efficient ticket(s) for public transport journeys has become a major bugbear for service users, with calls to drastically simplify offerings now beginning to be taken on-board by providers.

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Resulting from the substantial volume of research & development currently being undertaken, and worldwide pilot schemes delivering concrete and potentially replicable results, the UK Government are now taking notice. In the past six months, The UK Government have released a series of reports on the topic of Mobility as a Service (e.g. the Transport Committee report and the Government Office for Science report). Such reports make recommendations for authorities and the legislature to act in order to comprehensively shape the frameworks needed for MaaS and Shared Mobility to be effective. Jesse Norman MP, the Minister of State for the Department of Transport, is a strong advocate of these changes due to have a big impact on urban mobility, and has spoken and written extensively on this topic.

For inner city travel, micro-mobility is increasing in popularity as people look for cheaper, more convenient, and ‘greener’ forms of getting around. As a result of this, e-bike and e-scooter businesses have enjoyed rapid growth in the past few years, and this growth has led to multiple partnerships being forged across the transport sector. For example, ride-hailing taxi service, UBER has invested in Lime to add electric scooters to its app, while BMW and Daimler are combining to create five joint mobility ventures.

Professional networks are also being formed to unite the diverse array of stakeholders and actors needed for the successful implementation of new mobility services which encompass multiple modes and providers. We discussed these networks, and their importance, in a previous post.

In conclusion, the world of MaaS and Shared Mobility has been ignited into action in recent months. The wheels are now in motion to make these new forms of transportation a reality. There is so much happening in the field right now, that it’s sometimes difficult to keep track of it all. This is one of the reasons why it’s such an interesting and exciting marketplace to be a part of.